Monday, August 16, 2010

Fr. William Doyle: Prayer for Priests

PRAYER FOR PRIESTS
by Fr William Doyle

O my God, pour out in abundance Thy spirit of sacrifice upon Thy priests.
It is both their glory and their duty to become victims,
to be burnt up for souls,
to live without ordinary joys,
to be often the objects of distrust, injustice, and persecution.
The words they say every day at the altar,
"This is my Body, this is my Blood,"
grant them to apply to themselves:
"I am no longer myself,
I am Jesus, Jesus crucified.
I am, like the bread and wine,
a substance no longer itself,
but by consecration another."

O my God, I burn with desire for the sanctification of Thy priests.
I wish all the priestly hands which touch Thee
were hands whose touch is gentle and pleasing to Thee,
that all the mouths uttering such sublime words at the altar
should never descend to speaking trivialities.

Let priests in all their person stay at the level of their lofty functions,
let every man find them simple and great,
like the Holy Eucharist,
accessible to all yet above the rest of men.
O my God, grant them to carry with them from the Mass of today,
a thirst for the Mass of tomorrow,
and grant them, ladened themselves with gifts,
to share these abundantly with their fellow men.
Amen.



The above prayer and much more about Fr. Doyle found here.

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High priest, Mother of all priests and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

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